Nokia to update and release HERE apps for all Windows Phone 8 smartphones

Nokia has today announced that HERE Drive+, which has been in a beta for what seems like forever, will be made available for all Windows Phone 8 smartphones. For the time being, only HERE Drive is available for non-Nokia Windows Phone hardware. This is welcomed news for everyone who owns a Windows Phone not manufactured by the Finnish company.

This will mean that Nokia's HERE package is now available on all Windows Phones, offering a unique and feature rich experience to consumers, no matter which OEM you choose. While a few have already been available for some time, this is a major shift.

As well as today's announcement, the team has also revealed that the step to broaden availability of the navigation solution correlates with a new release of HERE Drive and HERE Transit. Both updates will be published in the coming days. The Drive (+ included) update will include My Commute to help with the everyday commute by learning driving habits and providing predictable and personalised recommendations based on traffic conditions.

HERE Drive will sport the option for the owner to upgrade the navigation license from local to global from within the app (see below for pricing).

As for HERE Transit, we'll be able to enjoy a new panorama view, which is billed to make it easier for users to plan routes and access previous destinations and favourites, as well as nearby stations. HERE Transit will also be made available for non-Nokia hardware in selected markets.

Here's a handy chart to really explain everything:

Good news for everyone. We'll let you all know when the new releases for HERE Transit and Drive are available. Find the press release below. Thanks, Rockartisten, for the tip!

Nokia releasing HERE for all Windows Phone 8 hardware

Espoo, Finland - HERE, a Nokia business, today announced the upcoming global release of HERE Drive+ for all Windows Phone 8 smartphones. This move will extend the benefits of HERE Drive+ beyond Nokia Lumia devices to help more people navigate their lives with ease and confidence. HERE Drive+ provides access to global world-class voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation with true offline maps, enabling people to reach their destination safely even without a data connection.

"With the global release of HERE Drive+ for all Windows Phone 8 devices we will further extend our HERE business and deliver on our promise of making HERE experiences available for as many people as possible. The more people are using our location offering the better it will get for everyone," said Thom Brenner, vice president, Windows Phone applications, HERE. "At the same time this release also demonstrates our commitment to further strengthen the Windows Phone ecosystem with our maps assets."

"HERE is the global leader in maps, navigation and location services. Its maps are used in huge numbers of the dedicated GPS satellite navigation devices and imbedded in-car navigation solutions from leading manufacturers around the world," said Tim Shepherd, Senior Analyst from Canalys. "In delivering world-class navigation capabilities with HERE Drive+ to Windows Phone 8, accessible offline with global coverage available, HERE brings a highly valuable and differentiated experience to the platform and the products it serves."

Updates to HERE Drive(+) and HERE Transit

The step to broaden the availability of its navigation app correlates with new releases of HERE Drive(+) and HERE Transit, both available for download from the Windows Phone Store within the coming days. The HERE Drive(+) update introduces additional enhancements to the experience, including My Commute, an innovative feature helping to improve the everyday commute. My Commute learns daily driving habits and provides predictable and personalized commute recommendations based on current traffic conditions. HERE Drive now also comes with the option to upgrade the navigation license from local to global coverage from within the app.

The latest update to HERE Transit further simplifies public transportation, taking advantage of the Windows Phone interface with a streamlined experience and a new panorama view. This new design is making it easier for people to plan routes and access previous destinations and favorites as well as nearby transit stations. HERE Transit will also be available for non-Nokia Windows Phone 8 smartphones in selected markets.

For more information on the updates, please visit our blog.

Pricing and Availability

HERE Drive (with local navigation license) for Nokia Lumia: Available globally at no charge in the Windows Phone Store for the Nokia Lumia 720, 520 and 521 with in-app upgrade for a global navigation license for EUR 15.49*.

HERE Drive for other Windows Phone 8 smartphones: Available at no charge in the Windows Phone Store in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, UK, and US with in-app upgrade for a global navigation license for EUR 15.49*.

HERE Drive+ for other Windows Phone 8 smartphones: Available globally in the Windows Phone Store for EUR 34.99*.

HERE Transit for Nokia Lumia: Available globally at no charge in the Windows Phone Store for all Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8 smartphones.

HERE Transit for other Windows Phone 8 smartphones: Available in the Windows Phone Store at no charge in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, UK, and US. Available in the Windows Phone Store in Australia, China, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia and UAE for EUR 1.99*.

*For pricing in your local currency, please check the local Windows Phone Store in your market.

I'm not whining, I've been using these during the beta and they're impressive. The only thing that bugs me is that Livesight doesn't work on my ATIV S, it keeps telling me to recalibrate the compass!!!!

Why "should" Nokia be entitled to supply their non-customers with everything. I guess Apple "should" give us all Siri. Nokia gives away this stuff and there's still this ungrateful, entitlement attitude?

Have u tried these beats audio? mmmm! Everyone says it's better than Dolby enhancement u guys get with the equalizer. Although equalizer is pretty cool, I'm pretty happy here and we get free maps, even if it isn't global for drive.

I don't know what you're saying because I know that beats audio headphones are a scam and a hugeee gimmick, but this doesn't even come close man. Take a chill pill. This is actually very good and increases voltage in the settings to amplify the sound, and isolates a lot of sounds well and adds some bass to it. I am a musician and have really good ears for quality of sounds and to make that statement of yours, you have to be truly biased. Your phone is good, don't get me wrong, but saying straight out that the beats audio in the HTC 8x, which then went to the HTC One, is bad is too far.

I am not biased its a night and day difference when adjust the algorithm EQ on my Nokia and turning on a loudness function of Beats Audio. Now granted the algorithm could have improved since my One X but being a musician ( I used to engineer a recording studio BTW ) how can you delegate a loud function button to Dolby EQ? When you engineered as much as I do you can tell the difference in a good EQ and loudness enhancement. There's more to quality sound than a simple bass boost. I'm not saying Beats Audio is bad, I said its the worse gimmick HTC could had made.

Okay now I see where your coming from. Of course I use equalizers all the time when recording my songs and whatnot and adjust a lot but I have to say, I believe people have stated (if I remember reading correctly) that it is infact different from the One X in audio quality. This one they actually focused more on the sound profiles more and has an amplified system, whereas the one x doesn't. It rlly does sound nicer to me and I'll admit I was shocked as well because I came with your mindset when I first saw the phone

I can't debate on the amplifier cause I don't own a One. I just personally never bought into the Beats Audio gimmick and HTC relying on it so much to sell a phone as people complain about Nokia emphasizing on camera. My 920 may not have the amplified front speakers or beats but damn if the sound quality and loud speakers don't go heads up with it. If I told someone this phone was ampd they'd probably believe it. And like you say I'm sure they advanced the software since the One X but personally I think the quality of Nokia sounds speaks for its own.

Does this mean that Drive+ is coming out of Beta? Cause currently Drive+ Beta is still pretty crap IMO and I wouldn't want to pay for it personally. I'm speaking as a person who used the Symbian Maps Suite which was fantastic.

I used drive for about 200 miles of nav over 4th of July weekend and holy sheets what a colossal fail it was. It once had me go 14 miles just to turn around. That's one of at least a dozen fails. Previously I thought it only needed a polish, but now I fully understand what people are unhappy about.

There's a lot of settings missing on Drive+ but on top of that I find it takes the most roundabout ways to get to places sometimes. I live in the UK and I can tell you it's taken me on some interesting journeys. On top of that I've had connectivity issues with it as well. So hopefully when the full version comes out it's done right.

Fully agree! It seems to love going through villages and hates A roads and motorways in the uk! So frustrating sometimes!
Good for getting a to b but rarely takes the optimal route if it's a long journey

Yeah, what's up with this? It's a pretty crazy price difference, too. Software distribution is next to free, I don't understand.
I'd be happy to pay $15 for plain Drive, but only Drive+ at over $50? Might not be worth it.

For the non-nokia versions (34.99) i would recommend to go for Navigon instead. Much more options and much more information while driving.
But its nice to see Nokia going to all platforms. Its really usefull and works like a charm.
I'm still wondering when Drive is going out of beta as its already in beta for a long time now.

HERE Maps with its LiveSight feature does the same thing as HERE City Lens does. Just open the maps, look for your current location, and tap the eye on just popped out above your current location sign (marked with the green circle).

I have Drive beta on my HTC8x... Had it for quite a while so maybe I am missing something here.
I only used Here Drive once. I was traveling SW and it directed me to go 45 minutes North before I would travel South again, more then 90 minutes out of my way. I know it's beta and I haven't used it since but I lost confidence to try it again during beta.
All I really want is to be able to see the entire route (street/highway names/exits) from point A to point B before I start driving so I can ensure it's bringing me along the most efficient path and/or edit routes.
I have Navigon and last I used it I didnt see that feature either.

I was using Here Transit for a while on my HTC 8x Windows Phone 8. Today, I saw an update listed in store for this app, but was unable to install it. So, i tried to uninstall the existing app first, and wanted to install the new update fresh.
But, after the uninstall, the Transit app isn't shown in the store anymore. I would like to know how to get this app installed on my HTC 8x?

Has anyone tested the integration after installing Nokia Drive on a phone that didn't come with it? I.e., testing the Lumias in store, they seem to have a good flow, where Bing Maps has an option to "Navigate" (or maybe "Drive") that passes the address off to Nokia Drive instead of trying to use Bing's turn by turn navigation which has always been glitchy for me. Does the installation of Drive result in the same or does it have to be launched independantly?